Marketing Discussions From Students at the Girard School of Business, Merrimack College

goPuff , an on demand delivery app, was created by Drexel University students, Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev, in their sophomore year of college. These best friends, college roommates, and business partners sought an opportunity to capitalize on todays “on-demand” society upon realizing there wasn’t a business that offered everything you need 24/7. The app originally launched with hookahs and munchies, but quickly pivoted due to a high demand and interest in other products. However, they decided to keep the name “goPuff” because it sparked interest among consumers.

Today, goPuff now offers over 3,000 products that fall into 20 different categories. These products include eggs, pots and pans, iPhone chargers, toasters, cleaning items, and much more. Most recently, goPuff introduced goBeer, in which customers can have a 12-pack of brews delivered directly to their front door. These 3,000+ items have been noted as being the most popular among consumer convenience needs and are priced comparatively to convenience stores. This new service offers these items at affordable prices, with the convenience of delivery, without the upcharge.

goPuff’s fleet of independent drivers can easily grab and deliver any of these products within 30 minutes or less, and most customers claim their order typically arrives in about 20 minutes. The delivery fee is a low cost of $1.95, and for an order over $49, the delivery is free. Customers can pay with cash or can link their credit card to goPuff’s app, which is available on Apple, Android and Google phones. goPuff drivers make about $130 to $140 in an eight hour shift between $2 per dollar delivery and then tips. Currently, goPuff delivers Monday- Sunday from noon to 4:30 a.m., but plans to extend those hours to 24 hours a day within the next three months.

Today, goPuff has about 100 employees and is operating in 8 major cities: Philadelphia, Phoenix, Boston, New York City, Austin, Denver, Washington D.C., and Seattle.

Why does this service matter to marketers? Companies like goPuff are targeting a specific demographic – the millennial generation, who want high quality service, but want the process to be quick, easy, cost- effective and – most of all – they want it now without having to wait. These companies are catering to today’s “on-demand” society’s needs where convenience within convenience is becoming a trend to accommodate these types of people and those who live an on-the-go lifestyle who may not have the time to get to places such as the convenience store. When consumers chose a service such as goPuff they are looking for 3 elements. The first element is how the product or service reduces time, consideration, and energy. The second element is the availability of the product or service at the most convenient time, such as not having to wait. Last, the third element is one which concerns the specific timing of the convenience, such as the purchase and the transportation involved.

Today, convenience is everything, given the fact that people now seem to live life on a whim. We have become so accustomed to instant gratification due to advancements in technology that now we don’t want to wait or take the time to do anything, when a service like goPuff can do it for us at a low charge accompanied by a short wait time. Given the success of these services, especially among the millennial generation, I think this has forced marketers to think about whether this kind of service will shape consumer experiences in the future. Will people, at least millenials, eventually stop shopping at supermarkets and making fewer and fewer trips to the convenience store? Will the in-store experience become obsolete in the next several years? These are questions for researchers and marketers to think about going forward as demands are increasing and constantly changing. Given the fact that I am 23 years old and part of the millennial generation, I can say that this service is ideal for us 20-something year olds who are constantly on the go, and when we need or want something, we want it now – at a low cost, of course. New and upcoming companies like goPuff understand that, which is why they have been so successful. More and more people are catching on to this, which is why these types of services, I think, will become increasingly more popular in the next few years.

At goPuff, they take convenience seriously, and for them it’s about bringing you what you need, as soon you need it, with nothing but a few taps and 30 minutes in between. goPuff allows you to carry a sleek and effortless convenience store, smoke shop, and mini-mart right in your pocket. Now, how convenient is that?

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15 thoughts on “Why go to the convenience store when you can goPuff?”

Ashley AlvesMay 10, 2016 / 12:47 am

I personally have been using goPuff for close to two years now. I do not use it that often but it does come in handy from time to time. There is a wide variety of products that you would normally need to go to multiple stores for so it is such a breeze to be able to access all of these different products in one place from your smartphone. As we know, human interaction is something that people want less and less of now a days. There are so many applications on smartphones that are not only convenient but they actually take away the need to talk to anyone. This is why I have purchased this application. I deal with people all day long at work and I much rather just hop on my phone and have everything I need delivered to my front door. So many businesses are realizing that this is the future and I honestly think in order to be successful more companies need to have apps just like this. Sure, I love my Starbucks app and being able to walk in the door and have my Iced Americano ready and waiting, but if it was brought to my front door that would be even better! Good job goPuff, I am already a fan. I actually recommend this app to many people. If you haven’t tried it yet – you should!

Ashley – it’s so great to hear that you have heard of and are even using this app! When I did my presentation on GoPuff no one one in the class, except one person I think, had even heard of this before. I agree with you that I think more and more companies are going to be offering services like this in the future. As you’ve mentioned, even companies like Starbucks have to speed up the process and really emphasize the “convenience within convenience” trend that is emerging! I hope one day Starbucks will deliver as well – that would be awesome and I think potentially quite profitable! I was at home the other night and found that I didn’t want to go all the way to the supermarket for just one item. I ended up downloading the goPuff app and debated ordering from there. I ended up not ordering it just to save money, but the thought was definitely there when just last week I was saying to myself I would never use an app or service like this!

This idea of ease of deliver is changing the way we shop, think and consume products as individuals. A company like goPuff has virtually created a system that has anything you need with a wide variety…eggs, diapers and iPhone chargers…clearly demonstrating their is a market for these types of services. However, as companies like this continue to develop, it’s interesting to see what traditional outlets must do to maintain their consumers and business. Will all liquor stores begin to offer delivery options? Will local convenience stores start to deliver? What other goods and services will start to move in this way?

Sarah definitely raises a good point. If more and more companies like goPuff keep popping up, local convenience stores are going to turn into storage centers that deliver almost all of their products. There are positives and negatives to this. Positives include more jobs and more convenience. But, these companies also promote a sedentary lifestyle and limited human interaction which are important for a healthy lifestyle.

goPuff sounds like a useful tool and it would be awesome if Market Basket did something similar to this! Imagine having your groceries shipped to you or ‘shopped’ for you (Stop and Shop does this; just add things to your shopping list and they’ll do the shopping for you) by your favorite and trusted supermarket? Pretty soon we are going to be living like the Jetsons – want a whole cooked turkey for thanksgiving? Just order it and it’ll show up!

It is a little exciting but scary at the same time as technology starts to take everyday tasks/errands and convert them into a no-hassle task that can occur almost spontaneously at your command.

goPuff sounds like a great ease of delivery service that is taking shopping for goods to a whole different level. This no hassle service is changing the way we think of “convenience”, by truly taking convenience to new heights by delivering goods without a customer ever having to leave their homes. I truly think this is the way of the future, and also I agree with Sarah, It will be interesting to see how grocery stores and convenience stores respond to this type of service. Will they soon implement delivery systems of their own to stay competitive in the market? I also feel like another potential market for this service could eventually even expand to parents with young children. Parents now a days are more tech savvy and have easy access to a cell-phone, and can have their items delivered to them without ever having to leave their homes, they will no longer need to pack up their kids to take a trip to the grocery store or convenience store to grab an item.

You raise some great questions, Victoria. As people become more busy with their everyday lives, they have less time for ‘nominal’ errands. Certain grocery stores have created an app where you can order the groceries you want, and an associate will do the shopping for you, and you just show up, pick up your bags of groceries and pay. Also, Amazon has experimented with drones to deliver goods to customers as soon as they are ordered. All of these efforts are used to help companies stay on top of the market and deliver products to customers in a more convenient way.

I think this is a very interesting article. However it seems to be most popular in the city where there is a convenience store on every corner and it isn’t difficult to walk to the closest store. However in the suburbs such as Merrimack college an app like this would be very successful because there are not a lot of stores close by that are open very late and there really isn’t any that are within walking distance. I am sure this would increase the overhead costs moving further away from the city but on the other hand could have a niche market. The same would go for stay at home moms in the city you can just put the child in a carriage and walk to the store but in the suburbs it isn’t that easy with stores being further away.

Your point is logical if seen from customers perspective. Its not profitable from business side because population in suburbs is really less. They cannot create profit margins by serving in suburb areas unless they are well expanded and established.

Gabrielle, great presentation! I had no idea that go Puff existed in Boston. It is a great concept but I think that there are going to be too many companies like this in the future. Everything will be an app and they way we live our everyday lives will be so different. This is great though for the city especially when a person does not have a car and needs to get product.

Agreed Kathy. I had never heard of it either, but it does make a ton of sense for people in a city. Also, in class it was mentioned that this service would be great late at nights in areas where most places close early. The first thing they need to do in order to survive the inevitable rush of competition in this market is to change the name or separate their non-smoking products into a new line. For example, I would think that a parent would prefer to buy their baby’s diapers at a place that doesn’t directly associate itself with a stoner crowd.

I completely agree with both you Sam as well with you Kathy! I could not believe when they said their number 3 best selling item was diapers. This took me by complete surprise given the name, background, and product offerings of the company. I understand that the name sparks an interest, but I think it would be more strategic to change the name of the company if they are trying to appeal to a wider audience. If this is not the case, then I think it would be best for them to keep the name and solely focus on trying to expand in areas where there are college campuses with fewer convenience stores within a walking distance rather than families.

Gopuff i think is a great idea, marketing of course towards college students. There is a pizza place near Providence College that also doubled as a convenience store. It was super convenient because if they delivered you food you could also request anything else they carried in their store whether it be milk, bread, eggs toothpaste, candy, toilet paper, peanut butter, anything, with no additional charge. It placed the pizza store above the other many competitors in the area simply because they could offer the convenience of delivering other products that we would be too lazy to go out and get. While we definitely over paid for these convenience store items, the ability to have it delivered always won us over.

I also think go Gopuff is a good idea. I can’t imagine you order something online and just after a few hours even a few minutes you receive them by delivered to your door. However, there are also have some problems. First, they are many online stores that are delivery very fast, such as Amazon, some goods can be delivered within one day. Secondly, Gopuff doesn’t have all the categories, for example, there is no baby food or baby stuff. This will make them lose the “mom” customers. Thirdly, it’s only active in a few cities. many areas are not applied yet.

I think Gopuff is a good and convenient idea, it can change the business model, expecially for some one who don;t have too much money. it cheap and fleixble so I think it is a good idea. but I am afraid that this business model can not stay for a long time, if some one successful from this, it may be transform the business model for survive at once.